Flight Journal - Page 39 of 286 - Aviation History | History of Flight | Aviation History Articles, Warbirds, Bombers, Trainers, Pilots

D-DAY INVASION: JUNE 2024

1930'S FIGHTER FLIES AGAIN: APRIL 2024

The Legend of Maj. Paul "Pappy" Gunn

Their Finest Hour

Butcher Bird Hellcat & Corsair: A test pilot recalls

Stinson’s Big-Guy L-Bird

Stalin’s Flying Hammer

LATEST

Pilot Harry Atwood: Aerial P. T. Barnum

The airplane had barely been invented when the daring new breed of men known as “pilots” began stretching the airplane’s purpose and the public’s imagination. Apparently seeking a place in the public’s eye, they began trying to outdo one another in distance and speed. Harry Atwood, of Boston, Massachusetts, took a slightly different tact, however. […]

May 28th in Aviation History

1895 – Birth of Edwin Tufnell Hayne, South African World War I fighter ace. 1916 – First flight of the Sopwith Triplane (shown), British single-seat fighter. 1931 – A Bellanca CH-300, fitted with a Packard DR-980 (American nine-cylinder air-cooled engine) and piloted by Walter Edwin Lees and Frederick Brossy, sets a record for staying aloft […]

May 26th in Aviation History

1890 – Birth of William Stanley Jenkins, Canadian World War I flying ace. 1929 – A Junkers W 33 (modified and sometimes referred to as a W 34) establishes a world altitude record; piloted Willy Neuenhofen takes the German-built, singled-engine transport to 41,800 feet. 1942 – First flight of the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, the first operational […]

Extra 300S: Patty Wagstaff and her Magic Machine

If you’ve ever seen her fly, you’ll never forget it. She’s razzle-dazzle personified. If you meet her and spend a few moments with her, you’ll come away with much the same feeling. It’ll be obvious that the pilot fits the airplane. Or is it the other way around? Patty exudes confidence laced with huge amounts […]

May 22nd in Aviation History

1906 – The Wright brothers are granted a U.S. patent for their airplane control system. 1943 – A U. S. Navy antisubmarine hunter-killer group scores a kill of an enemy submarine for the first time when General Motors TBM Avengers from the escort aircraft carrier USS Bogue sink the German submarine U-569 in the North […]

May 21st in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Paul Strähle, German World War I fighter ace who ran Luftverkehr Strähle,a pioneering air mail service, and later served during World War II. 1917 – A Royal Naval Air Service Curtiss H-12 Large America flying boat bombs and sinks the German submarine U-36 in the North Sea; U-36 becomes the only German submarine sunk […]

May 19th in Aviation History

1908 – The first U.S. military office to pilot a modern aircraft is Thomas Etholen Selfridge; he takes to the air alone in AEA’s newest craft, White Wing, traveling 100 feet on his first attempt and 200 feet on his second. 1918 – Death of Raoul Lufbery, a French-American fighter pilot and flying ace in World War I; he perishes in combat with a German Rumpler reconnaissance […]

May 18th in Aviation History

1916 – Kiffin Yates Rockwell is the first American to claim an air victory when he shoots down a German plane over the Alsace battlefield in France. 1934 – The Douglas DC-2, an American 14-seat, twin-engined airliner, enters service with Transcontinental and Western Air. 1940 – First flight of Saab 17 (shown), Swedish bomber-reconnaissance aircraft. 1971 – Birth of Desiree Tyler Horton, American helicopter pilot and television personality; she is one […]

Armed Forces Day: 13 Facts

In August, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of a single-day celebration to honor all the members of the military, no matter the branch. It was known as Armed Forces Day. In honor of the 66th annual Armed Forces Day, here are 13 facts you may not know about the U.S. military. […]

WWII Air Museum Reenactment

For the second year, the Yorkshire Air Museum let visitors experience what life was like at an RAF air base in 1944. After you read what they had to say about the event you (like me!) may be tempted to plan a vacation to the UK next May! From the Yorkshire Air Museum: 2018 Against […]